OT - photographers why do I lose my blue sky?

SweetFeet · Aug 20, 2012

OT subject, but wondering why I can lose a billiantly blue sky in my photos? Even happens when I am not shooting toward the sun.

Confusing as sometimes sky shows up great... other times only get blue in the upper portion of photo - but is washed out to white around the object I am shooting. Worst case is when the entire sky just seems washed out to grey or white - even though it was a blue sky.

Thanks if you can help give me a clue!

JDseller · Aug 20, 2012

Your camera is actually picking up how the sun light is reflecting down through the atmosphere. I just looked out the window at the blue sky we have here it is whiter looking down by the horizon. I would say it is caused by the angle of the sun light being different.

guido · Aug 20, 2012

Hello sweetfeet,
Your camera lens is picking up side light, and that will wash out a lot of the picture's detail and color. Have you ever seen pros taking pictures?. They always have a lens hood extention on the camera's lens. That is what you need to get, if your camera has a lens that will accept one.
Guido.

Howard H. · Aug 20, 2012

What type of camera do you have??? If you are talking about a digital camera, there are a ton of possibilities...

The quality of the sensor in your camera is the first huge thing that affects the quality.

The software embedded in each camera "interprets" what the sensor picks up, so that is the second thing.

Typically, this software control system has many, many specific adjustments for things like white balance, color temperature, type of light source, color vividness, etc, etc...

Most cameras have a lot of "scene settings" that approximate the "best" configuration for portrait, nighttime, scenic panorama, etc, that set those parameters for you... Those may or may not be correct for your type of shooting.

You may want to play with it in "manual" mode and take a bunch of test shots playing with the settings to see which parameter affects your blue sky issue...

I had a pretty high end Nikon a while back that would take gorgeous photos... Until you got to things with floods of red - like a close up of a bright rose or something... Then it could "over-wash-out" that large expanse of shading... The next Nikon I got after that, didn"t do it at all..

Howard

Anonymous-0 · Aug 20, 2012

If you have one of those real fancy automatic cameras they read the exposure and average the readings of several spots. If they read and average for dark locations, they might overexpose the light spots and turn them white. Sometimes the automatic cameras are too smart for their own good. Otherwise they are great.

SweetFeet · Aug 20, 2012

Guido,

Thanks! I am going to try this idea as it seems the simplest. I will look up lens hoods to see what they look like - and will make a temorary one to see if it solves the problem.
SweetFeet

SweetFeet · Aug 20, 2012

cyclonespoiler,

Thanks for the reply. I think I will have to get out my camera book and do some reading.

SweetFeet · Aug 20, 2012

Howard H.,
I have a Sony Cybershot... I think 14 megapixels. As I said to the poster above your reply - sounds like I have to get the book out. Will especially read about manually taking photos - saw a neat effect recently called "light painting" which recalls taking pics manually. So I definitely need to learn more about it.

SweetFeet · Aug 20, 2012

JDSeller,

Looking out the window, I see what you mean... it is lighter and greyer at the horizon. Going to try Guido's idea of a lens hood to see if that helps.

ss55 · Aug 20, 2012

Are you using a filter on your camera lens? A polarizing filter can be rotated to deepen the blue color of the sky. An auto focus cameras need a circular polarizer (CPL), but a maunal focus camera can use older style linear poarizers(PL), those are really inexpensive used on e-bay. Skylight (A-1), haze, and Ultra Violet protector (UV) filters reduce the intensity of blue sky.

Tiffen www.tiffen.com , B&W, and Hoya are some of the top filter companies. Their catalogs are helpful. Also try looking at your camera manufacturer's web site help section, any photography web site, or a photography book, there are thousands of good sources out there with helpful information and tips. Larger diameter filters can be expensive, so do your homework before buying one. I've had good luck buying them used on e-bay.

Good luck, enjoy the hobby.

Walt Davies · Aug 20, 2012

Use a polarizing filter.
Walt

SweetFeet · Aug 20, 2012

Thanks so much. I will check this out too. I've really only been taking digital photos for a short time. Obviously long enough though, that it is time to expand my knowledge base.

I will copy all these replies from everyone and it will be some things to work on learning over the winter in hopes of even better photos next summer.

SweetFeet · Aug 20, 2012

Walt,
Thanks. Book learnin' ahead.
So I suppose this means I will need to buy a real camera with a real lens...not one that goes back into the camera like a turtle pulls its head into its shell.

Absent Minded Farmer · Aug 20, 2012

Just like the days of film, you indeed get what you pay for with a camera. My camera I'm happy with, it's a Canon Power Shot SD1400 IS. But, give me something like a Nikon F4 with a bag full of lenses & tricks & I might quit haymaking & tour the country with my camera instead.

In the mean time, learn to trick the optic & other sensors on your camera. Definately use shade & sun angle to your advantage. I pan a lot to a lighter or darker area to trick the light sensor into seeing what I'm seeing... or close to it. It's easy to do with my Canon. I just pan to a lighter area, focus the camera on the half click on the shutter button, pan back to what I want to photograph (hopefully it's in focus) & take my pic. I did that plenty, yesterday, while photo'ing the storms that were rolling through. The sunset was a p.i.t.a. to get that camera to see the red I was seeing. The camera also has a habit of taking the darkness or foreboding nature out of the image I'm trying to capture (sorry, no examples of misrepresented happiness). The last two pictures are at night. The lightning is great but the moon looks like a lightbulb. I've really gotta work on that. ;v)

Mike

JerryS · Aug 20, 2012

You have previously commented about the color of the sky in photos I have posted. I can assure you that effect is not the result of any skill of mine. I have a little Canon PowerShot A1200(cost me $84 at Walmart after daughter took my good Canon) and I just keep it on Auto. If it has a filter I can't imagine how (tiny turtleneck). So it must be luck; that or we have better sky down here in the deep south.

RamblinMan · Aug 20, 2012

I know this is cheating but I use Photoshop to correct the color to what it looks like by eye. We had some brilliant sunsets this spring but I couldn"t fool the camera,an old Song Cybershot, into capturing the colors.

SweetFeet · Aug 20, 2012

Crazy Red Power,

Beautiful sky pics!!! Thanks for the tips, also.

SweetFeet · Aug 20, 2012

Jerry S,

Yes, your photos always look great! We do get blue skies in the northland too.

I will post three samples from the same day, same camera, same memory card. It was just Saturday...two different locations but the sky was as blue as could be everywhere - but not in all of my pictures.

SweetFeet · Aug 20, 2012

Ramblin Man,
I have tried washing blue color over the sky, but I cannot get it to turn out as good as I would like. Maybe I will have to give it another try. Thanks for the idea.

TomH in PA · Aug 20, 2012

Polarizing filter works unless you're using a wide angle setting, then the sky will be different in different parts of the picture and look strange.

Lens hood will help almost any picture, buy a good one and use it all the time, or at least shade the lens with your hand when the sun is hitting it.

A white sky is usually because it's overexposed. The meter is trying to bring out details in the dark vegetation and ends up overexposing the sky. See if your camera has adjustments to underexpose by 1 or 2 f-stops.

guido · Aug 20, 2012

Hello sweetfeet,
If the lens hood does not work, look in the manual in pages 56 to 60.
There is a lot of settings there, from white balance to light settings. You got some home work to do!
Guido.

MarkB_MI · Aug 20, 2012

As stated before:

1. Be careful of over- or under-exposure. The old manual exposure cameras had an advantage here: Proper exposure in full daylight is achieved at f16 and a shutter speed of the reciprocal of the film ASA. (e.g. 1/125 second for ASA 100 film). If your camera allows you to set manual exposure, give it a try. Open the aperture one or two stops if it's a cloudy day. (lower f-number equals wider aperture)

2. Use of a polarizing lens filter makes a world of difference if you want to improve contrast. Almost essential when photographing clouds or aircraft.

SweetFeet · Aug 20, 2012

Tom H,

Thank you so much for advice. I"m sure my camera has a lot of features I"ve not explored... time to start learning about it and photography in general.

SweetFeet · Aug 20, 2012

Guido,

Thanks again. Will do... and yes, sounding like I have a lot of homework.

*I did take a couple sky photos today - one with my hand shielding about the lens. Will see what they look like when I get them into the computer.
Sweetfeet

SweetFeet · Aug 20, 2012

MarkB_MI,

Thank you very much for advice. I can see from all of these replies that I really have A LOT to learn.

wolfman · Aug 20, 2012

Cause the sky is not really blue. It's only blue to our slow eyes. Otherwise red.

old_bc · Aug 20, 2012

A neutral density filter will help make a white sky more blue.

SweetFeet · Aug 21, 2012

Thanks, old_bc.

SweetFeet · Aug 21, 2012

wolfman,

Just did a little quick reading about the length and energy of light waves. And how stuff in the atmosphere reflects the light waves... will have to do more reading.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 21, 2012

OK..... 2 pages of pussyfootin around and noone tellin ya nuttin.....
It's takin pics of them damned ol green tractors that has burnt a haze into your lense :shock:

SweetFeet · Aug 21, 2012

Dave2,
Hey, I take pics of red stuff too! Though this one probably tops out the ugly scale.

M Diesel · Aug 21, 2012

(quoted from post at 11:08:40 08/21/12) wolfman,

Just did a little quick reading about the length and energy of light waves. And how stuff in the atmosphere reflects the light waves... will have to do more reading.

Thing is the camera sensors have to deal with direct light and reflected light. Reflected is much weaker. They don't have the ability to handle that much span. Your eye does a better job but in a limited way and it makes them respond differently. Your eye only pays detailed attention to the what you are looking at directly. The camera isn't given that luxury.

Sky blue is actually a light blue, which is actually white with less of the spectrum down towards green to red. In trying to get something usable in the dark areas on the image sensor the camera has to lengthen exposure time and eventually reaches a compromise and calls it good. Bad part is the Red Green and Blue sensors are all reporting about the same value at that point in the bright regions. (Technically the sensor cells are all the same, they just have different filters on them.)

Since cloudy days don't let through direct light from the sky, they make for better photos. Same can be said about having the sun at you back. Everything becomes a reflection and the light is much more uniform.

SweetFeet · Aug 23, 2012

M Diesel,

Thank you. As I said, I will be doing some book learning this winter. I know almost nothing of photography - just shoot what I find interesting and the camera does the rest.

OT - photographers why do I lose my blue sky?

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